Horror Hunter Files 2: Kat Cheshire
by Russel Smith
Summary: Following the run-in with Jeff the Killer, Eli and Slendy don't have long to rest before getting sent back out with the rest of the team in tow. What kind of adventure and madness await them in the city of Cedar Rapids, Iwoa? Will there be an explanation for what the heck is up with Eli and his control?
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Hello, Reality Sphere. I am Ruteuf, the Beholder of the Future. Continuing the instruction given to us by The Maker, I have taken it upon myself to tell another story concerning the Hunters of Horror. This story takes place not long after the altercation between Eli and the creature known as Jeff the Killer. Who knows what evils our heroes will have to overcome this time. Well, I do, but it wouldn't be as fun for you if I told you everything.

It was about 0300 hours when Eli walked up to a shack in the middle of the forest and tried unsuccessfully to open the door. After a few more tries, he pounded on it a couple of times. "Hoodie! Open up in there! The security is acting up again!" he yelled. After a few minutes, the door was opened by a teen wearing a grey jacket with a hood, dark hair, and a white mask with black facial features. "Hey, Mask. Where's Hoodie? He needs to deal with the security fuck ups." Without a word, Mask turned and led the way down a set of stairs.

"I know, I know!" called a low voice from around one corner. "Of course he's pissed, Mask! It's three in the morning and there's a bug in the security protocols. I'd be pissed, too." They rounded a corner to find a young man sitting behind a desk with computer consoles all around him, working furiously to fix the problem. His orange hood from which he took his name was pulled down, showing only the back of the black mask he wore. "Sorry about the trouble, boss. It kicked up some time yesterday and I've been trying to fix it. I've almost got it cornered now, if you'll give me a few minutes."

"Whatever, I'll type up my report after I catch a bit of shuteye, Hoodie. I'm tired and Jeff was a pain in the ass." With that, Eli left them to go to bed.

"What's with him?" Hoodie asked as he looked to Slendy.

"It is getting harder for him to control the Horror inside him. I assume he will be meditating quite a bit before he actually goes to sleep," Slendy said. "Has my clay come in yet?"

"Yep, just last week. I put all of it in your craft room, just the way you like it."

"Thank you, Hoodie. I shall take my leave, then."

The next morning, Eli walked into the main room to find Hoodie and Mask both typing at the computers. "I thought it was only going to take a few more minutes, guys."

"That's all taken care of, boss. We've got a new assignment. String of murders in the area of Cedar Rapids, Iowa. The last one was yesterday and the big wigs have told the local authorities to rope off the crime scene and leave it alone until we get there."

"A serial killer? Not our usual thing. What got this one put in our court?"

"Well, I was looking over the case reports. There's a lot of blood, but no body or sign that the body was moved. There's not even a sign of forced entry at any of the crime scenes. Odds are, it's a Horror we're dealing with." Mask looked at him. "Yeah, I'd say so. Probably D or L class."

"Is there any connection between the victims?"

"None. In fact, the only things they had in common were the fact that they all lived in Cedar Rapids and they're all children."

Eli walked over to an intercom and pressed a button. "Slendy, we're on the move again. Meet us at the garage."

"Wait, all of us?" Hoodie asked.

"I want all hands on deck. The only reason you two weren't on the last one was because you were already on a case, remember? I'd rather have all four of us on a killer case than divide us. Mask, how's the connection?"

Hoodie looked at Mask and then turned back to Eli. "He says that the body's going to be fine for at least another year before we'll have to visit another morgue."

"Good. Let's roll."

It wasn't long before they were all packed into the mobile unit with Eli driving. Conversation was light and continuous until Hoodie brought up something. "Boss, I've been going over the numbers. I don't know if you've noticed, but there's been a lot more Horror activity lately than when we started. I mean, just this year the amount of trouble has doubled. If it keeps up, I don't know if we'll be able to keep up."

"We'll keep up. We have to. This group was made to keep up with them, either by killing them or making sure they are safe to be around people. When the time comes, we'll do whatever it takes to keep the human race safe."

It was a full 24 hour's drive until they reached the outskirts of Cedar Rapids. "Slendy, no more hiding in the shadows. I meant it when I said we're not being subtle anymore. Especially not now. I can't handle it." Soon, they arrived at the police station and walked inside.

"Just one moment, sir," the officer behind the front desk said as he looked up from the paperwork in front of him. After writing a few things and handing it to another man, he folded his hands on the desk in front of him. "What can I help you with?"

"We're here about the serial killings. I believe our bosses told you we were coming. I'm Eli Jackson."

"So you're the government's dogs," the officer replied as he looked over the group. "I guess they know what they're doing, but you guys do know that Halloween was a couple of months ago, right?"

Eli sighed as Slendy put a hand to his head. "Yeah, yeah, we've heard that one before. Who's the detective in charge of the investigation."

"Right, you'll be wanting to talk to Detective Callahan. He's watching over the crime scene right now. Here's the location."

"No need. We know where it is. Thanks for your help." Without another word, Eli turned and led the group out of the station with every eye on them. A short drive brought them to the crime scene with a plain clothes officer standing on the sidewalk looking at the house.

"Detective Calahan?" Eli said as he stepped out of the van with everyone else in tow. "We're from the government."

The detective looked around and sighed. "You know, when they said not to be alarmed at your appearance, I thought they were joking. What the hell are you?"

"Classified. We're just here to stop the killings. Where's the mess?"

Callahan shook his head. "This way. We haven't even set foot in the room. Not since the Feds told us last time."

"Good. Sorry for the trouble, but it's better for us to see it as fresh as possible. Now, the victims are all children, yes? Did their parents say they were acting strangely at all?"

"Not that they were aware. Why?" asked Callahan with a quizzical look.

"In our line of work, it's better to be sure of what the conditions of all things were. This is the room?"

Callahan looked up. "Yeah. Here's the rundown. About three days ago we got a call from the parents of one Robert Kessinger, nine years old, in a panic because of screams coming from his bedroom and they couldn't get in. When the officer on site arrived, he did all he could to open the door with no luck. We had to break the door just to see what happened."

Sure enough, the door was lying in two pieces on the wall outside the room. Inside, blood was everywhere. Carpet, wallpaper, and ceiling had all been painted that barbaric red. Eli took a step inside and said, "We'll take it from here, detective. Go back to the station and leave it all to us."

Callahan opened his mouth to protest, then closed it and turned to leave. Before he walked down the hall, he said, "Just do me a favor and catch this bastard before he gets another one." Then he was gone.

Eli waited a few minutes, then walked into the center of the room. "All right, let's get to work. Slendy, I want you and Hoodie to go over the lawn with a fine toothed comb. If there's anything there, you need to find it. Mask, start looking for footprints. With this much blood, I'd be surprised if there wasn't any."

Slendy lingered a bit. "Eli, how are you holding up?"

"I'll be better at the end of this, Slendy, but I'm still here."

* * *

All right, people. I'm back! After a huge break (much needed to refocus on what I was doing), a few new jobs, and a lot of deciding where I was going with my stories; I have returned with a new Horror Hunter story. To those of you still waiting on me to come back to the Homestuck fanfic, I haven't abandoned you indefinitely. I've had to reacquaint myself with the source material and even then I was having trouble which I will explain when I finish and post the next chapter of that. Until then *gets down on knees* please don't be mad. I'm working as hard as I can!


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Eli looked around the room, trying to find traces of what had happened inside its walls. He was inspecting the window when he saw Mask's reflection waving his hands. As he walked over to where Mask crouched, he saw what the teen was gesturing at. "Claw marks. Some kind of animal? See what you can get from them." Mask nodded and started using a magnifying glass to get a closer look.

As Eli went back to looking at the room itself, his eye fell on the closed closet door. It could have been the perfect hiding spot for someone before any of this. As he slowly walked toward the door, he pulled a knife out of his pocket and held it at the ready. He put his hand on the handle and took a deep breath before flinging it open, startling Mask, but there was no one inside.

"Sorry, Mask," Eli said with an embarrassed chuckle as he put the knife away before looking around the closet. He was about to give it a pass when he saw something in the corner. There sat a small plastic Cheshire cat figure. As he picked it up, it smiled innocently up at him and he saw a small tag around the neck that said only "Robert." Then he heard a giggle from the window. He spun around just in time to see a purple cat's tail disappear to the side of it. With a cry, he bolted over to the window and threw it open before climbing out.

When he looked to the side of the house he saw the tail go to, he was surprised to see a cat girl wearing a black and purple striped shirt, with purple highlights in her black hair and purple eyes standing on the edge of the roof giggling. Without a word, she waved as if to say, "See you later!" and leapt off the roof onto a telephone wire and she was gone.

Slendy came around the corner of the house and looked up. "Eli, what are you doing up there?" he asked.

"Don't bother looking around the yard anymore. If I'm right, our suspect just ran off that way on the wires."

Slendy looked in the direction Eli was facing and then back to Eli. "I suppose you got a good look at the individual?"

"Yeah, I'll tell you when we get out there."

One brief explanation later had Slendy looking thoughtful. "A cat girl?"

"You sure you haven't been looking up pictures on the internet too much, boss?" Hoodie said with a chuckle.

"Actually, Hoodie, it would not surprise me if this girl did exist. Our kind are quite diverse. Also, her sudden appearance makes me think she is connected to this somehow. It would be a good idea to see if we can find and catch her." Slendy looked off in the direction Eli had pointed out. "I shall go through the alleys and see if I can catch up to her."

"Right," Eli said. "Hoodie, you and Mask take the car and do the same from the roads. I'll go check out some of the local area, see if I come across her by chance."

Hoodie held up a hand and took a breath to say something, then sighed. "All right, then. Let's go, Mask." Without another word, they split up and Eli started walking down the street. He didn't understand how, but he instinctively knew that he would find the girl before the others. He kept walking until he came upon a park and sat down on a bench. It was a few minutes before a feminine voice came from right next to his ear.

"Aw, does the big bad hunter think he can take little old me on by himself? Hee hee hee! You seem pretty confident about yourself, walking around all alone."

"That's because I don't have to be afraid of you, nor do I think you have to be afraid of me. I'm just getting facts for now," Eli replied as the cat girl flipped over the bench and crouched on the seat facing him.

"And what are you gonna do when you have them?" she asked.

"Depends on where they lead. So, who are you?"

"I'm Kat Cheshire. You're Eli Jackson, the lead Horror Hunter. Probably here to hunt me, but it could be someone else."

"Who was Robert Kessinger?"

The girl sat down with a bored look. "Just some random kid who picked up something he shouldn't have. I messed with him a little bit, just to be funny. He was a bit of a whiner, if you ask me. He never liked my jokes."

"So you're a bit of a prankster?"

"I prefer to call myself a lover of fun," Kat replied with a grin. "I do things that will make me laugh. Messing around with people tends to make me laugh the most. Too bad LJ doesn't like me messing around with people." She frowned and folded her arms. "It's like he never lets me have fun anymore."

"Who's LJ?"

"The guy who brought me here. He said there was work to do, but we haven't done anything I'd call work since we got here."

"THERE SHE IS!" came a yell from the street. There were Mask and Hoodie getting out of the van with Slendy running up behind them.

"Oop, looks like our time's up. I'll see you later, Hunter!" With that, Kat leapt from the bench and took off on all fours, disappearing around a corner and out of sight.

"Eli, why didn't you stop her!?" Hoodie panted when he reached the bench.

"Because I doubt it'll be the last time I see her, to be honest. I seem to be the target for her amusement."

"What have you gotten yourself into, Eli?" Slendy asked, putting his long slender fingers on Eli's shoulders.

"Nothing too bad, I think. It'll definitely be interesting for a bit. Let's just roll with this and see where it goes."


End file.
